Knitting for comfort
After the shock of our friend's accident wore off a bit I decided to knit a shawl for her. A couple of years ago I purchased some gorgeous Ceallach Dyes yarn from Full Thread Ahead at Stitches West with intentions of knitting a shawl for my daughter, but she informed me she really wasn't a shawl person and that I shouldn't put all that work into something she'd likely not wear. So that lovely yarn has been in my stash just waiting to tell me what it wanted to be. It wanted to be Julia's Shawl from Alison Jepson Hyde's book
Wrapped in Comfort - Knitted lace shawls. It's about 2/3 done.
Last night I knit until 4:30 am, I just couldn't put it down. Both the yarn and the pattern are such a pleasure that I've found it so enjoyable to work on it's hard to put down. Meanwhile, Bernice is improving just a little each day, but she's still got a very long road to recovery ahead of her.
Is this little sheep from a fairy tale? I recently picked him up at a thrift store for just a few cents and couldn't resist him. He's about four inches long and made of unglazed porcelain.
Today I received a surprise in the mail . . . hand cranked socks from my friend Kathleen. She has machines that you crank by hand to make socks. The fun part is she only did the foot of them and I get to design and knit the cuffs. They're made of
KnitPicks Essential in Glacial. The strange thing is I just ordered the same yarn, and I'm thrilled that I can now make a scarf or glove to match!
One of my next projects will be the Curve of Pursuit blanket for my granddaughter in red and black. First I need to finish the baby cocoon and scarf I've got started. While searching my stash for the yarn for Bernice's shawl I came a cross a box of lace weight yarns I bought from KnitPicks a while back, so to break up the blanket knitting I'll use some of it for either another shawl or scarf. Tonight I'm taking a break from knitting as my shoulder is complaining due to my marathon knitting last night.
Blogs and more blogs
How much time do you spend reading blogs? An hour a day? More than two hours a day? Time always seems to be in short supply for me, so I'm very sporadic about both reading blogs and writing in my own. This week I rediscovered
Henya's blog where she not only shares her own patterns but she also has a contest right now. I enjoy the many subjects she covers as well as her style of writing.
Our neighborhood is a mix of families who've lived here for many years, raised their kids and are now enjoying grandchildren, along with a few young families. Our good friend and neighbors, Joe and Bernice, who live across the street from us and have since their daughters were young had left last Thursday to attend their granddaughter's high school graduation with plans to return on Sunday. They drove up to Sacramento where they joined with their youngest daughter and her hubby who planned to drive the rest of the way to Eureka. They were so proud of their granddaughter's accomplishments and were excited about the trip. Sunday, their daughter and son-in-law had dropped them back at their vehicle at the hotel in Sacramento and the kids headed to their home and the parents headed back here. About 20 minutes on the road Joe had some as yet unknown medical emergency which caused a single vehicle accident which took his life. When we learned of it on Monday we were in shock, and even the re-telling of the story as we related it to our neighbors who would want to know it just didn't seem possible. Bernice was critically injured, and has had to have at least two surgeries that we've heard of. While she continues to improve a bit each day, she's expected to be in the critical care unit for another couple of weeks or so. If you're a praying person would you please say a prayer for her?
On Saturday my friend Penni and I are going to an epiphyllum sale. We've each agreed we plan to buy only one or two plants, but once we get there I'm not so sure we'll be able to stick to our good intentions! I'm hoping to find a couple of varieties with small blooms. I am taking many of the Christmas Cactus that I foolishly thought I couldn't live without last winter to share with other growers. Of course, I wish I could say generosity is my only motive, but the truth is that space is my biggest motive . . . or lack of it. I have so many epies that they are outgrowing the area I have as they get larger. Saying Penni has about three times as many as I do might make me feel better for a nano-second, but then I'd have to admit that she also has a potting house and a very large patio with beams overhead to hang her plants from, while the ceiling of my sunroom won't support hanging plants. It will be fun to go together and see what we can find!
Tonight I finished the first half of a lace scarf that is knit from the bottom up in two pieces, and when I weighed what was done and the yarn I have left, I'm afraid I may end up short. I'm using Rowan Kid Silk in a pretty green, but I doubt if I can match it as I've had it for quite some time. I'll have to knit faster to get to the end and see if there's enough to finish . . . think it will help?
The sandman is calling and I'd better get to bed and sleep while I can as it's supposed to be very warm tomorrow and I don't sleep well when I'm too warm.
Unexpected bloom
A few weeks ago while caring for my many plants I reached down to get a small pot from under the potting bench when I noticed that the Amaryllis plant I'd set there with intentions of throwing it away because it refused to bloom for me after the first year I got it about three years ago. It had a bud stem about 5 inches high. I gave it a drink of water and left it where it was. A few days later I discovered the stem had grown so tall the bud was hiding under the top of the potting bench. I brought it out and a few days later it rewarded me with this gorgeous bloom. It had two buds, but one was knocked off by either the wind or the cat.Today I had to destroy one of my favorite plants which had become virused. It was a very large plant, and had recently bloomed with four beautiful large blooms. Unfortunately the virus can spread to other plants, and rather than chance losing all of my collection I chose to get rid of it.
Today was World Wide Knit In Public day, but I didn't find time to participate, though I do knit in public on a regular basis. There are several items on my knitting needles, a cocoon for our new granddaughter who is due to be born in September, a couple of scarves, and a pair of socks. I've been trying to give each of these items a little attention, but the socks have received the least attention. Perhaps I'll go grab them and do a few rows.
More blooms
This is by far the largest bloom yet on my epies. It's Sonoma Sunshine and it's between 12 and 13 inches across. I've been told it has a lovely scent also, but with the sinus issues I've been dealing with I couldn't smell it. This was the only bud on it but I'm hoping next year to have multiple blooms.
Sadly, I've passed on this sinus, bronchial stuff to my dear hubby. He gets over things quickly as a general rule so I hope he follows the rule this time. The same doesn't hold true for me as I often take 4 to 6 weeks to work through something like this. Right now we're both snuffling, coughing and miserable.
This is another bloom from yesterday. It is Orient Express and is the first of four buds to bloom. It is a nearly 10 inch bloom. Both blooms are still open and sure brighten a persons day.
As for knitting there has still been no knitting happening here. I have been fondling yarn as I've been trying to decide which sock yarns to use for an upcoming knit-a-long. We'll be making a toddler sock, which I hope will be the first of a pair for my 19 mo. old granddaughter, Brodie.
I'm hoping to be able to maintain enough concentration tomorrow to do some knitting. I've got plenty of works in progress that I could be working on. Socks would be the first thing I'd work on, but there's also a scarf I enjoy working on too. Here's to knitting tomorrow . . .
More blooms
Last week brought two more blooms on my epies. Amber Queen opened on the 12th with a small 4 inch bell shaped bloom that can best be described as a coral/rose color.
On Thursday I awoke with severe nasal and head congestion. It was a day that took all the energy my body could muster just to get out of bed and make it to the living room.
On Friday I awoke to a 
gorgeous 6 inch pale pink bloom on Elise. The congestion was bad enough that I couldn't even guess if it has a scent.
On Saturday I ended up at the clinic at Kaiser because the congestion was moving to my chest. One antibiotic prescription later I'm still fighting the congestion (bacterial bronchial and sinus infection) as well as the side effects of the antibiotic. Nothing tastes good, and I just want to lay around and do nothing.
A coughing fit took care of breakfast, and then taking pills on an empty stomach really did me in later. I managed to eat a baked potato and a small piece of meatloaf for dinner but the side effects of the antibiotic took care of that.
Knitting . . . nope, I'm not, I simply can't concentrate enough to do it. If perseverance were a priority I could probably manage something simple but I simply don't feel like it.
Good news, bad news . . .
The good news is . . . it's a girl. The new grandbaby due in September will be our 9th grandchild, and 6th granddaughter. We're excited of course, and I'll begin knitting for her soon.
The bad news is . . . another family member has been laid off work. Our youngest daughter learned today that her job has come to an end, along with the jobs of several of her workmates. She welcomes the opportunity to seek a new field of work, hopefully something of a more artistic nature. She's been doing communications work for about a decade now, and while it has paid well, she's a very artistic person and it hasn't been her dream job by any means.
I picked up this jar in Southern California recently and love the look of it filled with left overs of sock yarn. I haven't had time to clean up the very rusty lid yet. The jar is about a 3 gallon size. I'd seen an even larger one some time back at an antique sale and later regretted not buying it, so finding this one was a stroke of luck.Hubby is now up to full dosage on his meds for Parkinson's with no side effects other than he seems more tired. Fortunately he hasn't had any nausea that many suffer with from the medicine.Our recent trip to Disneyland was a very relaxing one. We met friends there and spent lots of time visiting with them and people watching. Dale had a sore foot and didn't feel like doing a lot of walking and I developed a blister on the bottom of my big toe so we were quite the pair of limp alongs! Two of our daughters joined us there on Sunday and hung out with us. They spoiled me by buying a teacup, saucer and spoon set that I was eyeing fondly. Today I received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers from my oldest son and his family for Mother's Day. It's a mixed bouquet of Lillies, roses, stock, daisy poms, bupleurum, and salal. There is also a beautiful locket attached to the vase by a ribbon. Tomorrow hubby is treating me to lunch at Claim Jumper, or another restaurant of my choice (we'll skip the crowds expected on Sunday).
I've finally finished the increases on the toes of my Poem Sock socks. This yarn is so soft . . . I can barely wait to finish them and put them on my feet. The ride to Sacramento will be some quality knitting time.
Happy Mothers Day to all my friends and family out there! May your day be filled with love, family, and everything that makes you happy.
Bargains and blooms
Monday a week ago I awoke to this gorgeous bloom on my Three Oranges hybrid epiphyllum. It was about eight inches across and truly a work of God! It's growing from that 'branch' (improper terminology) at center top, and to the left you can see another bud that will bloom soon. There are well over a dozen buds on this plant that appear healthy enough to bloom and they'll probably bloom over the next few weeks. In addition, at least a half dozen other plants in my collection have buds on them. One, Orient Express, has over a dozen healthy buds on it that should bloom! I dare say it's going to be a bloomin' good season.
Speaking of good . . . the bargains were good this past Friday at our local thrift stores. Those of you who read my blog regularly know I'm talking about yarn bargains. Here's the tally for that one day, at three thrift stores;
26 skeins of a fingering weight labeled Dressy by Spinnerin, 1 oz/125 yards ea. of 100% wool in light brown, 6 skeins of worsted weight Nature Spun (no company name but made in USA) 100% virgin wool, 3.5 oz/245 yds ea, in rose, 1 large skein of lace weight yarn with a label in Chinese that I was able to weigh out at 265 grams. I just did a burn test on it and I'm confident it's a natural fiber but it feels softer than most wools to me. To double check I put a piece of it in bleach too, so if it disolves it's definitely a natural fiber. I can't guess at the length, but it's a lot. A completed baby blanket (preemie size) made from Red Heart baby print, plus 3 skeins of matching yarn. 1 skein Paton's Baby Coordinates, plus several balls of frou-frou type yarns. My total spent, just $21.50!
Amid the excitement of my epi blooming, and the yarn spree we've had some not so great news. My husband has been diagnosed with stage one Parkinson's disease. Stage 1 means it's currently affecting only one half of his body, his left side. We weren't terribly surprised at the diagnosis, as I had already done some research and knew his tremor, and some of his other symptoms were indicative of Parkinson's. There were a lot of things that could have been worse. But now that we've had a few days for it to sink in, it feels like someone has ripped the reins of control out of our hands. This isn't a death sentence by any means, but it does have the ability to change our lives completely, without warning. Still we have so much to be thankful for. It's just difficult to look at our blessings at this time instead of at the control we feel we've lost. We know God is in control, now we need to exercise our faith, and let go of this and thank Him for each day that dear hubby can live a normal life. Say a prayer for us next time you're talking to Him, will you?
